This program booklet dates from the cornerstone laying of the Hillwood Lakes campus's first building, Green Hall. This event marked a transition point for the college away from the city of Trenton, and several notables were invited to attend. No transcription.
New Jersey State Normal School (Trenton, N.J.)This booklet was likely made by representatives of the Class of 1941 for this event, their Junior Prom. It includes a list of class officers and a list of those who arranged the event, as well as spaces for the original owner to write the names of their dancing partners. This person spent the night dancing mostly with one "Don," but also with "Walt and Jeannette," "Les and Helen," "Fred and Christine," and "John and Jean." No transcription.
unknownThis booklet was likely made by representatives of the Class of 1940 for this event, their Junior Prom. It includes a list of class officers and a list of those who arranged the event, as well as spaces for the original owner to write the names of their dancing partners (this section in this booklet is blank). No transcription.
unknownThe majority of the materials are related to Haskell’s education from primary through graduate school, with additional items from her early career and retirement. The Correspondence Series contains her first teaching recommendation letter in 1915, a teaching appointment notice, and a few personal letters ending in 1954. The Grade Cards and Transcripts Series span her eighth grade year in 1909 through a master’s degree program in 1938. The Ephemera Series comprises dinner and event programs she attended in her early career from 1923-1939. The Clippings Series (1937-1955) cover a variety of topics, as well as coverage of the 1955 Trenton State College centennial. The Prints Series includes four etchings or reproductions of St. Petersburg Florida churches inscribed: “for Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Wilhelm” by Will Kay Hagerman (Kent Hagerman). The Certificates and Diplomas Series span from her primary school years in 1904 through 1946. They include, among other items, her Normal School diploma and bachelor’s degree, as well as membership certificates to honorary sororities, Red Cross volunteer service, and her marriage certificate to Josiah Haskell.
Haskell, Lulu Clough, 1895-1970Content warning: Some of the published music in this collection was used in minstrel shows and some song lyrics may contain racist and harmful depictions of marginalized groups, sexist or misogynistic language, and xenophobic attitudes and opinions.
The collection contains autobiographical information including a curriculum vitae-like document composed after Bray’s retirement. She also jotted down notes for a “Typical day at retirement home” that might have been for an article in the home’s newsletter or other publication.
Her teaching and grading materials include handwritten music for portions of three Richard Wagner works: “Das Rheingold,” “Walkure,” and “Siegfried,” that may have been used for her 1933-1934 class: “German Music of the Romantic Period.” Grading materials include a “Colonial Class Register" notebook from 1947-1948 containing students’ names and grades for the following classes: Chorus, Elementary Appreciation Methods, Supervision of Music, Child Voice, High School Appreciation Methods, and Student Teaching. Also included are handwritten evaluations for the following students, mostly of the class of 1951: Albert Bazzel, Glenn Welshon, Vilma Kosco, and Doris Allen. Bray retired in 1948, which indicates that these students may have been among her last at Trenton State College.
The correspondence contains a variety of material. She received compliments for school performances she directed, as well as congratulations on her retirement. Many letters are from former students who also included updates on their lives or anecdotes about their time in Bray’s classes. There are several letters from Helen Layton Lowrey who worked in the college’s business office and who did Bray’s taxes during several years of her retirement. These letters include news about other former faculty members including Doris Perry and Lulu Haskell. There also are a few letters that Bray wrote to Trenton State College Presidents Edwin Martin and Clayton Brower that include biographical information and details about the development of the Music Department. Finally, there are letters from Effie G. Kuhn, the Head of the Speech Department from 1919-1952, and K. Elizabeth “Betty” Ingalls, an instructor of Music from 1940-1948.
There are two items of ephemera: a pamphlet from the Supervisors School of Music in Westfield, New Jersey, from 1918, and a program for the dedication of Bray Hall in 1964. Publications include a set (with multiple copies) of Bray’s Phono-Song Course, Books 1 - 4, from 1920, and a small number of issues of “Oak Leaves” newsletter from Bray’s retirement home.
College of New Jersey (Ewing, N.J.)Content warning: The illustration and description of the mural (in Box 1, Folder 3) includes inaccurate, derogatory, and/or offensive depictions of people indigenous to the area.
The Mildred Duncan Warnecke Collection contains student group photographs; photo albums depicting family life, sports and leisure activities, rural scenes, and Normal School students; newsletters and student activities of the class of 1907; and reunion materials related to Gamma Sigma Nu sorority. The collection also contains copies of The Seal yearbook and The Signal newspaper. Warnecke came to acquire the photo albums created by Louise Woodruff Bush, likely through meeting Bush (older Gamma Sigma Nu member) at the sorority annual reunions. The collection spans 1906-2000, with most of the materials created between 1906-1969.
Bush, Louise E. Woodruff, 1887-1963This small booklet, held together by a red-and-silver ribbon, came from the first triennial (every 3 years) reunion of the Model School Class of 1904. The booklet outlines some speeches given by members of the class and the names of each student. A partial transcription of the autographs is included.
This small booklet records the Class Day exercises for the Model School's Class of 1904, depicting the class roster, the order of exercises, and the names of students performing. A reproduction of the corresponding commencement booklet can be found in "History of the Model Class of 1904" (see related materials below). No transcription.
New Jersey State Normal School (Trenton, N.J.)This grouping contains two items from very early Model School commencements. The first is a small invitation to the 1878 commencement ceremony at Taylor Opera House, in Trenton. The second is a (partly torn) booklet from the 1880 commencement, including a list of events and the names of the graduating students. No transcriptions, as the documents are typed.
This booklet from the 1903 Model School commencement includes lists of graduating students, their home towns, and their area of study. It also contains the list of commencement exercises. Of some note is the mention of an essay given by honor student Charlotta Miller on the Black poet and author Paul Lawrence Dunbar, which has unfortunately not survived. The student roster also includes several surnames that appear in other classes from around this period, namely Britton, De Cou, and Bosworth; these students may be siblings of those sharing their name. Some students from the Class of 1904 also appear. No transcription.
New Jersey State Normal School (Trenton, N.J.)